India's oil need stabilises global price and demand: Minister Hardeep Puri

The country has expanded its list of source nations for oil and gas to 39 nations, up from 27 countries two years ago

India’s appetite for oil stabilises global demand and prices, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Puri said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the India Energy Week (IEW), Puri said that if India’s 5 million barrels of oil per day requirement had been added to the global demand already reeling from the lack of Russian crude, prices would have shot up to $120 per barrel.

“If energy from a particular source stops, and you pile on to the remaining sources, what does that do to the price?" Puri said.

The minister said India had received much appreciation for “having dealt with the risk situation in a mature and pragmatic manner.” India has expanded its list of source nations for oil and gas to 39 nations, up from 27 countries two years ago.

 

Puri said India is now importing oil worth $20 billion from the United States.

A net result of these moves has been that India remains one of the few nations in the world where the consumer cost of oil has reduced since the pandemic.

On the issue of Saudi Arabia’s recent decision to not increase oil production, Puri said the west Asian country has a large spare capacity. "There is no shortage of oil in the world," he added.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has shortlisted four states - Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh - as locations where all its outlets will sell E20 fuel, said Puri.

On whether oil marketing companies (OMCs) should reduce pump prices following three straight quarters of profits, the minister said the OMCs would need more time to make up for the under-recovery they had faced earlier.

Responding to questions on increasingly fractured geopolitical relations making oil imports difficult, Puri said IEW aims to bring together stakeholders for discussions. "India energy week will from now on be part of the global calendar," he said.